Aziz Ansari appears on stage at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Ansari earned some laughs and some internet buzz after cracking jokes about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during the ceremony. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

(MEDIA GENERAL) – Comedian Aziz Ansari earned some laughs and internet buzz after he took a few jabs at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump before presenting an award at Sunday night’s 2016 Emmy Awards show.

Ansari has publicly spoken out against Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric in the past, including his personal interactions with prejudice in a New York Times piece. He used the Emmy stage to crack a few jokes.

He jokingly told the crowd that he has decided to vote for Trump, apparently solely to help his chances of winning more awards.

“After careful consideration, I have decided I’m going with Trump – which is also why I’m recommending we get rid of all Muslim and Hispanic nominees from the ceremony immediately,” Ansari said. Following up with, “This would be so much easier if we were at the Oscars.”

Ansari acknowledges his parents in the audience before asking for them to be escorted from the building as the ABC cameras catch a befuddled but amused Mr. and Mrs. Ansari in the audience. Ansari’s parents are Muslim.

Ansari, best known for his ensemble role in NBC’s long-running comedy “Parks and Recreation,” is the co-creator and star of “Master of None,” a Netflix series that won the Emmy for Best Writing for a Comedy Series.

Ansari’s writing partner and “Master of None” co-creator Alan Yang had his moment in the spotlight, as well, addressing a lack of diversity in Hollywood during his acceptance speech.

“There’s 17 million Asian Americans, and there’s 17 million Italian Americans. They have ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘Rocky,’ ‘The Sopranos.’ We got Long Duk Dong,” Yang said, referring to the loony stereotypical character from “Sixteen Candles.”